Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: There was a large police presence at Pima Schools on Thursday as the district went on lockdown as law enforcement searched for a student of interest.
UPDATE: The lockdown has been lifted as of 2:20 p.m. and the school is all clear.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – The Pima School District went on lockdown Thursday afternoon to assist law enforcement in locating a student. The school advised students who went off campus to stay away for the time being. The lockdown was lifted at about 2:20 p.m.
Pima Superintendent Sean Rickert told the Gila Herald that law enforcement was looking for a student and since the student was not located in class the school went on lockdown to assist law enforcement. He said the lockdown has nothing to do with any active shooter or anything else like that which unfortunately comes to mind when one hears the words school and lockdown together.
“There’s a lot of law enforcement here and they’re keeping everybody safe,” Rickert said.
The student wanted by law enforcement allegedly had a verbal altercation with another student that escalated into threats. The student has since been located by law enforcement.
Law enforcement personnel from the Graham County Sherriff’s Office, Safford Police Department, Thatcher Police Department, and Department of Public Safety assisted at the scene.
The Pima Police Department issued this press release Thursday night.
“At approximately 12:54 p.m. Pima Schools went into lockdown. Officers from the Pima Police Department, Thatcher Police Department, Safford Police Department, Graham County Sheriff’s Office, and Arizona Department of Public Safety responded. The initial report was a student mentioned a gun during a conversation with school staff. The circumstances of that conversation and the mention of the gun are still under investigation by the Pima Police Department.
During the initial response by law enforcement Pima School was already following their protocol being in lockdown made it possible to quickly identify the subjects and witnesses being involved. It was discovered the mentioned firearm was never on school grounds or an actual threat to the school staff or students.
Officers from different agencies completed a search of the Pima school campus including elementary and no further incidents or evidence was discovered. Precautionary measures were in effect while the safety sweep and investigation continued.
At approximately 1:50 p.m., the Pima School staff was informed by the Pima Police Department they could resume normal operations. Officers from the various agencies remained on the scene and assisted in maintaining security while the school released students to their parents or the bus program.
I would like to thank our neighboring agencies for their support and rapid response to assist us. As a small community, we realize the students’ parents want information about their child’s safety as soon as possible. The Pima Police Department is committed to fully investigating each threat and that can take time in some cases. When probable cause exists, appropriate enforcement action will be taken.
We continue to encourage students, parents, and school staff to immediately report any information that poses a threat to the safety of others.”
This article was updated at 7:30 p.m. to include the Pima Police Department release.
